Brazil

Digitas, the digital unit of Publicis Groupe is laying off 2% of its approximately 2,100 employees in the U.S., the company confirmed Thursday. The agency cited the recession's impact on client budgets in making the cuts. A Digitas spokesperson said the agency's 900 employees outside the U.S. would not be affected by the cutbacks. Acquired by Publicis in 2006 for $1.3 billion, the digital unit has been expanding its network internationally, most recently through Publicis' acquisition of Sao Paulo, Brazil-based Tribal in November.

I'd hoped to see Christie Hefner in New York Tuesday, where she was supposed to lead Playboy's presentation at the UBS Global Media and Communications conference.

Health information social networking site DailyStrength has been acquired by HSW International, the digital content company that is a spinoff from HowStuffWorks.com (which later got acquired by Discovery Communications). Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Paris-based global ad giant Publicis Groupe this morning announced the acquisition of one of the leading digital agencies in a key emerging market - Sao Paulo, Brazil-based Tribal - which will become part of the burgeoning global network of Publicis' Digitas unit.

Big Four ad agency Publicis is now buying in to Latin American digital advertising, acquiring Sao Paulo-based Tribal to add to its Digitas online ad group. Digitas CEO Laura Lang said Tribal is "fundamental" to expanding in the growing region. Publicis bought Digitas back in 2006 and has grafted on various international digital acquisitions in the UK, India, Singapore, China and its native France, so this will be a foothold across the Atlantic.

UK ad-holding company WPP Group, fresh off its takeover of audience researcher TNS, has sold its 50 percent stake in TV researcher AGBNielsen Media Research to Nielsen. In return, Nielsen will transfer to WPP the assets of ad-pricing researcher SRDS and health-care media-planning data unit PERQ/HCI. Nielsen will also give over its 11 percent share in several subsidiaries belonging to Brazilian media research firm IBOPE Group.  WPP already holds a 31 percent stake in IBOPE. These assets will be added to The Kantar Group, WPP's information, insight and consultancy division.

Given the economic climate, the primary focus in today's Disney (NYSE: DIS) earnings call, particularly in the Q&A, was on the company's parks & resorts business. But, after the call, CFO Thomas Staggs agreed to provide some insight into Disney's digital media efforts, which came close to producing a billion in revenue for the company this year.

The latest NBA expansion covers two growth areas for the league: international and broadband. NBA League Pass Broadband International is now available in 19 countries. The subscription includes access to 40-plus live games a week with play-by-play in English and VOD for 24 hours after they air. Some live games will be blacked out. Pay options include full season ($85 through Nov. 11; $100 after), monthly and daily. The international version follows

What would Visa do without Michael Phelps? Yahoo! Brazil rebrands. Let's launch!

Entertainment-themed websites are the most popular with mobile internet users in the growing mobile markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC), according to Nielsen's latest Mobile Media...